Unexpectedly
by 8reath3
Summary: At first glance, he was just clumsy Ginger Boy. Romione. Temporary title. AU. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Hi, it's foo-ood! I really appreciate you coming to read my story, especially since I'm a new FF writer :) Just tell me what you think and thank you!

-DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter. If only I did...-

* * *

It had rained that day.

Hermione sighed as she looked up at the gray sky at 7:00 in the morning, raindrops falling on her hair and rolling down her cheeks, almost as if she had been crying. And she almost did want to cry; her whole look was being ruined, from her hair to her light makeup to her clothes. _How unprofessional._ _And at this rate, I won't even get to work on time either_, she thought.

"Ugh, I'm going to be late," she muttered. Taking off her jacket, she pulled it up over her head as a means to prevent her hair and makeup from getting even messier. After making sure it had complete coverage of her face, she ran as fast as she could to the nearest bus stop; luckily for her, the bus had been delayed as well and she was able to clamber up the steps into the bus taking her to the London Ministry's—a news publication at which she worked as the managing editor—headquarters.

She sat in the only available seat, which was in the front, diagonal to the bus driver's seat. Everyone was in their own little conversations; Hermione could hear everything and nothing all at once. She didn't recognize most of them, but there were some familiar faces.

Over there was Jason, the one who she had taken, along with a few other of her particularly good workers, out to lunch. He was a nice, good-looking guy with a gentle, patient personality, and was extremely good with his work. She wouldn't be surprised if he became a regular employee in a year or two. However, the Ministry's executive editor Harry Potter, no matter how much she loved her best friend, had a frustrating way of being unpredictable.

Jason was busy talking to his twin sister, Carolina. Hermione recalled Jason talking about her and how she was trying to find her way through the music industry. _She's really pretty, _noted Hermione. The twins seemed so perfect, much more perfect than she had been when she was their age; Hermione couldn't help but envy them, even though there was no reason to do so.

Neither of the twins saw Hermione, so she kept quiet and passed the time by looking out the bus window. Although it was slightly foggy and water kept streaming down, the view was more or less clear. Everything looked more sharp to her when it rained, so the green of the trees on the sidewalk and the bright reds and blues of neon lights particularly stuck out to her.

That is, until she saw him.

He was a bit different than other pedestrians she had seen, besides the fact that he was outside in the pouring rain, sitting down on the damp sidewalk, trying to put on his sneakers as he waited for the bus to stop. She had never seen him before, but a part of her felt like she knew him in some way she couldn't explain or understand.

The bus was approaching closer to the crosswalk; he had gotten up at this point, his sneakers laced up. He looked like he was in a hurry, with a worried expression on his face, his feet shuffling forward, as if he were about to run for it. He had a gray sweatshirt on, and he put his hood over his rather intensely red-colored head to protect it from the rain.

_His hair… it's very… red_, thought Hermione, laughing silently. _It almost looks as if his head's on fire._ Hermione saw that the sky looked grayer and the lights looked dimmer when she compared them with his bright ginger hair. She struggled to resist the urge to laugh out loud; she felt a bit bad for making fun of him, especially since she didn't even know him, but she couldn't help it.

_But he's actually kind of good-looking… if you can get past the hair. Where is he going?_

She watched him vanish into the distance as the bus stopped for him to cross the crosswalk. He panted heavily as he sprinted to wherever his destination was. A motorcycle which suddenly ran the red light nearly hit him at one point—Hermione's jaw dropped for fear of an accident—but Ginger Boy was fortunately fast enough to get out of its way.

While the motorcyclist sped away ("By God, _motorcycles_," Hermione heard the pudgy bus driver mutter in exasperation) Ginger Boy kept running. Although he was far away, Hermione could see his expression, which was one of a worried, angry, and scared man all on one face.

Resting her head on her hand and leaning against the window, she watched until the bus lurched and began moving again. _I could see his hair for ages. He probably ran five kilometers away and I could still see it. _She tried not to laugh once again.

"It's a good thing he didn't get hit," said the bus driver, trying to make small talk as he drove down the road. "If it were up to me, I would outlaw those damned motorcycles. All these youngsters nowadays don't use them like they ought to. They're rather rude, don't you think? Nearly killed that poor man…"

In response, Hermione politely nodded and listened quietly as the bus driver ranted on about how motorcycles were "a threat to society". However, the image of Ginger Boy stayed in her mind. His expression, his face, his hair, his sweatshirt…

She remembered everything.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, everyone! I'm **extremely** sorry it's taken me such a long time to update this story. Real life kind of got in the way for a while, and I hadn't gotten a good idea on how to continue this story until recently. I personally didn't like how I wrote this, but I just wanted to update this story. I'm also working on other projects, so be warned: I'll probably neglect this story a lot.

Regardless, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, although I REALLY REALLY wish I did.

* * *

"Ron. Ron!"

"Is he dead?"

"At this point, I'm not sure."

The voices were distant, but Ron could make out Ginny and George's voices. He tried to lift his arm up to swat their hands away from his face, but his body refused to move. It didn't help that his eyes were practically glued shut either.

_I'm just... so... tired..._

The next thing he knew, Ron was sitting up in bed, cold water dripping down his undershirt and drenching his fiery red hair.

"Ron, you're going to be late for your interview!" exclaimed Ginny, ushering him out of bed and pushing him in the bathroom. "Hurry up!"

_Bloody. _

_Fucking. _

_Hell. _

"Well, shit," whispered Ron.

Never before had Ron rushed so much in the morning. He was the kind of guy who took it easy, especially in the mornings, but not today. He managed to shower in two minutes and promptly scarfed down his rather hearty breakfast of toast and eggs in five minutes flat. So as not to damage it, he slowed down when he put on the suit; he had never worn something so fancy in his life before, not even at his prom. He didn't know how to put on the tie, so Ginny did it for him.

This was it. Today was going to be one of the biggest days of his life.

_His first potential job._

"Mum and Dad are counting on you to get this job, okay? Don't fail!" George said, trying to be encouraging. "I mean, ever since Bill, Charlie, and Percy left home, we haven't been in the best position... And Fred died in that accident... And I'm crippled... Practically useless." His face fell a bit, and even though he was still smiling, it was less bright.

"Don't say that, George!" Ginny said. "Just you wait, things will turn around today. For all of us. Ron's going to make sure of that."

Ron tensed up, his face losing a little bit of its color. What if he disappointed them? All of their hopes were riding on them; they really needed the extra money that _he _could earn.

He could make them _proud._

But then again, he could also disappoint...

He shook his head, trying to think positive thoughts and focus on what he'd say, what he'd do when he met his interviewer. Rumor was that some of the employees of the London Ministry were interviewing them this year. He wondered if that meant things would be easier or harder for him.

"Good luck!" Ginny and George waved at him from the door as he left the Weasley residence.

Giving them a small smile, he waved back. "I'll be seeing you later."

Then, he rushed to the bus stop, hoping that it hadn't left already.

* * *

Ron sighed as he got off at the London Ministry. It had been a huge relief, really, because the bus driver was absolutely insufferable. He kept mentioning his little son Dudley. And it had been fine at first; what parent doesn't talk about their child?

By the end of the bus ride, Ron wanted to find this "Dudley" and strangle him to death.

At the moment, however, Ron had more important things to focus on. Taking a deep breath, he opened the doors to the London Ministry headquarters. People were bustling about, talking and walking and typing and printing...

It was exactly as Ron had imagined it to be.

"Pardon me, sir, but do you need anything?"

Ron turned to his right to see a young man, no older than Ron himself, smiling at him. "Sir?" asked the man again.

"Oh! Oh, no, no, no. I, uh, just came here for an interview. I have one today," Ron said.

"Oh, I see..."

"... It _is_ today, isn't it?"

The man laughed. "Don't worry, you've come at the right time. I can take you to the interview room if you'd like."

"Would you? It would be a great help."

"No problem." The man motioned for Ron to follow him as he walked down a hall that Ron hadn't spotted at first. They passed by many offices as the man said, "By the way, my name's Jason. It's nice to meet you, sir."

He stopped in front of a door, and Ron took this opportunity to shake his hand. "I'm Ronald. Ronald Weasley. Do you work here?"

"I'm just an intern. Still in university, you see. It's hard to balance out school and my job here, but it's worth it. It's been an amazing experience."

"Is it really?" Ron smiled. "Well, wish me luck then."

"That I shall." Jason gave a huge grin. "Oh, by the way, just head on straight from here and you'll see people and some chairs. Wait for your name to be called and from there, it's all on you."

"Alright. Thank you."

Jason just waved in reply and walked off in the opposite direction.

Ron followed the directions that Jason had given him and landed in the waiting area. Nobody spoke and the tension was high. Ron sighed and tried to focus on happy thoughts and how he would answer questions, reviewing everything Ginny and George had asked him in preparation for this interview.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, the door opened. It had a name on it: 'Hermione Granger, News Editor'. So they were being interviewed in the news editor's office? How peculiar. Ron tried not to let it bother him and focused on what was about to come.

"Is Mr. Ronald Weasley here?" a girlish yet strong voice called out.

"Here," Ron said, getting up from his seat to walk inside.

The woman had her back to him, leading him inside the office. He guessed she was the news editor, Ms. Hermione Granger. He didn't know why, but he thought that her first name was just funny in an odd sort of way. It was a nice little distraction from the nervous butterflies that were fluttering in his stomach.

"Take a seat." She motioned for him to sit down in a chair in front of her desk.

Not once had she looked at his face.

Ron settled himself in the chair, gulping, as she took off her jacket and sat down in hers.

"So, Mr. Weasley, I just wanted to-" she started.

She had looked at him for the first time.

Her face expression was priceless, and Ron wanted so badly to laugh, but he kept a straight face as she gaped at him.

After a minute or so, Ron finally muttered, "Uh, Ms. Granger? Is there some kind of problem...?"

And then she finally spoke.

"Ginger Boy?!"


End file.
